


post tenebras, lux (after darkness, light)

by blackpercy



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Gen, basically i had an issue in supernova how nova didn't even grieve callum or anything???, callum was the closest thing she'd had to a best friend so i'm fixing that, it's like bittersweet, she just??? moved on???, this is kind of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26126488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackpercy/pseuds/blackpercy
Summary: Nova attends Callum's funeral and makes good with an unlikely person
Relationships: Evie Artino | Margaret White | Magpie & Nova Artino | Nightmare, Nova Artino | Nightmare & Callum Treadwell
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20
Collections: Renegades Rewrites 😎





	post tenebras, lux (after darkness, light)

The day of Callum’s funeral was sunny.

Nova looked to the sky in partial disgust. Callum _had_ to have orchestrated that. She didn't know how he could have, but maybe he charmed the socks off of the Underworld ferryman or something.

She had never really thought of the afterlife that much, but she had no doubt in her mind that if there was a heaven, Callum would be there.

It was a relatively small affair, the funeral. The ornate headstone funded by the Renegades had a quote Callum had put on his Renegades application, his date of birth, and his date of death. It was bigger than the other headstones there, and his parents had asked an artist to engrave a sunflower on it. Sunflowers were his favorite.

His parents were here, and they were gazing at the casket sorrowfully. A couple of Callum’s friends from his old school were here, and then it was Nova and Magpie.

Magpie was by the outskirts of the graveyard, sitting on a bench and looking like a ghost herself. Nova knew that she and Callum had been kind of close in an “I pretend to hate you” sort of way. Nova noticed her posture, it was straight and it gave off an air of confidence. Someone who didn't know how to read people would think she was alright, but Nova knew she was faking it. 

Heck, _Nova_ was faking her confidence.

She wasn't wearing her Renegades uniform, she had since thrown that away in the trash. She was wearing black jeans and a dark gray t shirt under a leather jacket. It was a bit casual for a funeral, but Nova hadn't had time to go shopping for funeral dresses.

Nova wanted to approach Magpie. Of course, she still didn’t like her, and part of her was still pissed she had stolen her bracelet, but now wasn’t the time for pettiness. Her therapist (yeah, she had a  _ therapist _ now) had said that sometimes helping others can help you too, so across the graveyard she went, seeking out a child that would probably push her away. 

Magpie didn’t notice Nova approaching her at first. She was too concentrated on staring at Callum’s grave. 

“Hey.”

Magpie’s head shot up. Her brown eyes went from confused to guarded in a second.

“What do  _ you _ want?” she spat. Nova resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The girl’s resemblance to her was uncanny. Adrian had snapped a picture of Nova’s angry face one time, and Magpie’s was almost similar to hers.

“I guess...I just…” Curse her stutter, Nova wasn’t good with the social stuff. She sighed and stood a bit taller, “I noticed you over here and I knew you guys were close so-”

Magpie held up a gloved hand. Her expression told Nova that the gesture was  _ not  _ appreciated.

“Listen, I don’t  _ need _ your pity,” Magpie glared at her. “Me and Cal just worked together, that’s it. I just came here to see if it was any more relevant than the crap they gave him at the parade.”

Nova mentally raised a brow at the use of a nickname but she returned Magpie’s glare with a stubborn one. “I wasn’t  _ giving  _ you pity. I just know that Callum was fond of you and…” 

Her breath caught in her throat. Reliving their memories was hard. 

She averted Magpie’s glare to look at the tree behind her. “I know that he’d want me to check on you. He was the closest thing to a best friend I’ll ever have and...I won’t fail him again.”

Magpie stared at her for so long it was getting uncomfortable. She seemed to be calculating her sincerity, a habit she probably picked up from the streets.

Finally, after a long time, she spoke.

“Callum was the closest thing to a brother I’ve had.” Magpie said quietly. Nova hadn’t expected her to open up to her like that. Still, she didn’t waste time.

“He was really fond of you,” she agreed and joined Magpie on the bench. The metal was cold and uncomfortable to sit on, making Nova squirm a bit.

Magpie shrugged, “Maybe if I hadn’t thrown him that stupid helmet, he’d still be here.”

Emotionally charged words said under a disguise of nonchalance. Nova recognized that. Magpie wanted to feel seen just like everybody else, she wanted to know if Nova would see her.

Nova cracked a morbid smile, “Maybe if I hadn’t done...well,  _ everything _ , he’d still be here” that made Magpie smile a little bit, and again Nova was taken aback by how much she looked like her.

“I guess we’ll be known as the Killers of Callum Treadwell,” Magpie joked. It wasn’t even funny, it was kind of depressing, actually, but Nova laughed anyway. They had found common ground, and at least they didn’t despise each other

The two watched the ceremony, sitting in comfortable silence under the bright blue sky. Nova wondered again if Callum had any sort of power from the beyond. Even when he was dead he was still bringing people together. 

The clouds came rolling in, briefly passing over the shining sun in a morning glory effect. Spots of sunlight danced over the graveyard until they passed again, making Nova appreciate the light even more.

Magpie subtly scooched closer, and Nova smiled in wonder at the sight and the moment. Callum would be smiling


End file.
